The present invention relates generally to educational devices, and more specifically to a reusable write-on wipe-off book holder for teaching young children. The apparatus, when used in conjunction with any ordinary school workbook, worksheet, or blank template, will allow children, especially young children, children with learning disabilities and children with limited writing and fine motor skills, to repeatedly practice a wide range of learning skills in any subject. In addition, the write-on wipe-off book holder can also be used for therapeutic or recreational activities including coloring and ‘paper and pencil’ type games.
Workbooks are well known in the educational field. A seemingly unlimited variety of workbooks have been developed to aid in teaching children mathematics, handwriting, language, science, social studies, music, grammar, etc. Such workbooks are valuable instructional tools because they cover a wide range of learning skills, they provide a diversity of formats, and because exercises are typically sequenced from easiest to more difficult. Also, the exercises in typical school workbooks are generally enriched by fun drawings, colors, and interesting formats.
However, exercises in conventional workbooks that use a paper and pencil approach, can only be used once. There is only one chance to fill in each page and complete the assignment. There is no opportunity for repeated practice of any particular page. Making multiple copies of the same page from which to practice becomes, inconvenient, impractical, costly, and in some cases, not an option due to copy written materials.
Write-on wipe-off books, boards, and mats are also common in the educational field. The user is able to write on the coated surface and thereafter wipe off the markings for repeated use. Such devices, however, have a fixed, specific content and are limited in the versatility of the device.
In prior art, devices are known wherein a clear overlay is placed over an underlying paper form whereby a child can write on the clear overlay using the underlying paper form as a guide. The clear overlay may then be erased, and the paper form may be reused. However, devices such as these, as presented in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,741,561, 3,553,864, and 4,968,258, for example, which utilize plates, plexiglass, and the like, are limited in use and can only accommodate an underlying paper guide in the form of sheet material such as a worksheet.
Other such devices, such as those presented in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,409,383, 5,409,383, 6,199,816 B1, for example, although more versatile, are deemed to be of substantial height. The height of these devices is not ergonomically practical for use on a desk or tabletop or for young children who are still learning the proper writing posture (i.e. proper hand, wrist, forearm placement) as well as proper “pencil grip”.
Other prior art devices, such as presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,192, for example, have required mechanical means such as plates, spring clips, clamps, clipping mechanisms, and the like, to hold the device and or the underlying paper guide in place. These moving parts, when opened and shut, are disruptive in the classroom and are difficult for small children to operate. With these devices, inserting and removing the underlying paper guide, in the form of a worksheet, is cumbersome and time consuming in a classroom or instructional setting and is also difficult for young small children to utilize.
Furthermore, while write-on wipe-off learning devices of prior art are suitable for their intended purposes, these teaching aids do not allow for a variety of work surfaces in one apparatus for use in conducting various teaching, recreational or therapeutic activities. Although more than one work surface is often needed to better illustrate lessons taught in school workbooks, there have been no adequate devices for presenting the workbook material along with additional work or display surfaces for use as teaching aids, or to present alternate communication means or motivational reinforcements, or to remind students of training schedules, particularly learning disabled children.
An improvement over the presently known write-on wipe-off educational devices would comprise of an ergonomic, reusable, write-on wipe-off learning device able to accommodate multiple forms of underlying printed matter including a worksheet, a blank template, and a school workbook being of varying thickness in the open reading position, whereby children are able to write on the clear transparent overlay of the device and easily wipe away their work, allowing for repeated practice and opportunities to learn. Such a device would be quick, simple, and easy to utilize, especially for young children. Additionally, the easily transportable teaching apparatus would have multiple functionality including; an additional work or play surface. This present invention is directed to such an advance in the art.